Harbour Island People Mover
Encyclopedia
The Harbour Island People Mover was an automated guideway transit
people mover
service used to carry visitors between Downtown Tampa
and Harbour Island
across the Garrison Channel in Tampa
, Florida
, United States. Privately owned but operated by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART), service commenced on June 27, 1985. Due to low ridership and operating losses, the service was discontinued on January 16, 1999. The money given to the city for the closure of the system in a settlement with ownership served as the foundation of an endowment to cover the operating expenses of the TECO Line Streetcar System
.
Transportation Systems, the people mover was completed at a cost of $7 million. The 2500 feet (762 m) concrete guideway
was elevated and spanned the Garrison Channel. Operating between 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m, the Harbour Island People Mover made approximately 620 trips per day with a maximum capacity of 100 passengers per trip. The system ran in a north–south direction between the downtown station located on the third level of the Old Fort Brooke parking garage and its southern terminus at the Shops of Harbour Island on Harbour Island.
. Costing $7 million to complete, former President
Gerald Ford
took part in the inaugural ride. Although it opened to much fanfare, ridership of the system remained relatively low. By 1989, ridership averaged 1,200 riders on a weekday and 1,500 on the weekend or for an average of about 2 riders per trip. The low ridership was attributed to the perceived difficulty in accessing the downtown station and the addition of a lunch-time shuttle bus service between downtown and Harbour Island by January 1989.
By 1995, the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization approved funding to initiate the preliminary engineering for the construction of a third station at the Tampa Convention Center
. With the system losing approximately $1 million between 1994–95 due to increasing operating costs and dwindling ridership due to the closure of the Shops of Harbour Island, Beneficial Corporation sought to sell the system to HART for only $1. However, since the system was losing substantial amounts of money, HART declined to purchase the it from Beneficial. By July, Beneficial announced the people mover may cease operations if the convention center station was not completed along the line.
With the prospects of a convention center station stalling, by 1998 Beneficial was looking to shut down the people mover. As a result of a contract with HART calling for the agency to be in charge of operating the system for thirty years, negotiations had to be undertaken with the city to dissolve the contract since it was good through 2015. By May 1998, an agreement was reached calling for the dismantling of the people mover system and for Beneficial to pay the city $5 million to dissolve the contract. Harbour Island would then be served by trolleybus
es and the majority of the settlement money would go to an endowment to be used in the operating costs of the subsequently built TECO Line Streetcar System
. The line ceased operations on January 16, 1999. After determining the Garrison Channel bridge was unsuitable for use as a pedestrian crossing, demolition began in November 1999 and was completed by February 2000.
Automated guideway transit
Automated guideway transit is a fully automated, driverless, grade-separated transit system in which vehicles are automatically guided along a "guideway". The vehicles are often rubber tired, but other systems including steel wheels, air cushion and maglev systems have also been used in experiments...
people mover
People mover
A people mover or automated people mover is a fully automated, grade-separated mass transit system.The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks, but is sometimes applied to considerably more complex automated...
service used to carry visitors between Downtown Tampa
Downtown Tampa
Image:Tampa_Skyline.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Downtown Tampa looking from the Hillsborough Riverpoly 2403 537 2441 500 2488 483 2516 455 2566 439 2597 410 2649 390 2682 358 2803 315 2949 342 2956 362 3068 383 3074 406 3202 431 3204 447 3332 473 3350 484 3485 1616 2446 1587 Wachovia Centerpoly 1745 1216...
and Harbour Island
Harbour Island (Tampa), Florida
Harbour Island is an island neighborhood within the city limits of Tampa, Florida and the sub-district within Downtown Tampa. The ZIP Code serving the area is 33602.-Geography:...
across the Garrison Channel in Tampa
Tâmpa
Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States. Privately owned but operated by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART), service commenced on June 27, 1985. Due to low ridership and operating losses, the service was discontinued on January 16, 1999. The money given to the city for the closure of the system in a settlement with ownership served as the foundation of an endowment to cover the operating expenses of the TECO Line Streetcar System
TECO Line Streetcar System
The TECO Line Streetcar System is a streetcar line in Tampa, Florida, run by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transportation Authority and managed by Tampa Historic Streetcar, Inc.. It connects Downtown and Channelside to the historic Ybor City district. There is also an "In-Town" trolley-replica bus...
.
Description
Developed by the Beneficial Corporation and utilizing OtisOtis Elevator Company
The Otis Elevator Company is the world's largest manufacturer of vertical transportation systems today, principally focusing on elevators and escalators...
Transportation Systems, the people mover was completed at a cost of $7 million. The 2500 feet (762 m) concrete guideway
Automated guideway transit
Automated guideway transit is a fully automated, driverless, grade-separated transit system in which vehicles are automatically guided along a "guideway". The vehicles are often rubber tired, but other systems including steel wheels, air cushion and maglev systems have also been used in experiments...
was elevated and spanned the Garrison Channel. Operating between 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m, the Harbour Island People Mover made approximately 620 trips per day with a maximum capacity of 100 passengers per trip. The system ran in a north–south direction between the downtown station located on the third level of the Old Fort Brooke parking garage and its southern terminus at the Shops of Harbour Island on Harbour Island.
History
Ground was broken for the project on September 20, 1983, as a part of the greater Harbour Island redevelopment. When the Harbour Island People Mover opened for service on June 27, 1985, it marked the return of rail transit to Tampa since the closure of its streetcar network in 19461946 in rail transport
-January events:* January 1 - The Lichfield rail crash in England kills 20 people.* January 18 - The Harvey Girls, a movie starring Judy Garland and Ray Bolger and set in a Harvey House Hotel, makes its American debut...
. Costing $7 million to complete, former President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
took part in the inaugural ride. Although it opened to much fanfare, ridership of the system remained relatively low. By 1989, ridership averaged 1,200 riders on a weekday and 1,500 on the weekend or for an average of about 2 riders per trip. The low ridership was attributed to the perceived difficulty in accessing the downtown station and the addition of a lunch-time shuttle bus service between downtown and Harbour Island by January 1989.
By 1995, the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization approved funding to initiate the preliminary engineering for the construction of a third station at the Tampa Convention Center
Tampa Convention Center
The Tampa Convention Center is a mid-sized convention center located in Downtown Tampa, Florida. Its location has both waterfront views and views of the skyline. In 2006, a 20-story Embassy Suites hotel opened next door, with a skybridge connecting it to the convention center. Harbour Island is...
. With the system losing approximately $1 million between 1994–95 due to increasing operating costs and dwindling ridership due to the closure of the Shops of Harbour Island, Beneficial Corporation sought to sell the system to HART for only $1. However, since the system was losing substantial amounts of money, HART declined to purchase the it from Beneficial. By July, Beneficial announced the people mover may cease operations if the convention center station was not completed along the line.
With the prospects of a convention center station stalling, by 1998 Beneficial was looking to shut down the people mover. As a result of a contract with HART calling for the agency to be in charge of operating the system for thirty years, negotiations had to be undertaken with the city to dissolve the contract since it was good through 2015. By May 1998, an agreement was reached calling for the dismantling of the people mover system and for Beneficial to pay the city $5 million to dissolve the contract. Harbour Island would then be served by trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
es and the majority of the settlement money would go to an endowment to be used in the operating costs of the subsequently built TECO Line Streetcar System
TECO Line Streetcar System
The TECO Line Streetcar System is a streetcar line in Tampa, Florida, run by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transportation Authority and managed by Tampa Historic Streetcar, Inc.. It connects Downtown and Channelside to the historic Ybor City district. There is also an "In-Town" trolley-replica bus...
. The line ceased operations on January 16, 1999. After determining the Garrison Channel bridge was unsuitable for use as a pedestrian crossing, demolition began in November 1999 and was completed by February 2000.